Love and Fate Come Full Circle in February with AfterShock’s STRONGHOLD

Coming in 2019, another unique entry into the AfterShock Comics library, via the creative duo of Phil Hester and Ryan Kelly, which will challenge the notion of true love, titled, Stronghold.

The book includes deities with hidden identities, a secret society tasked with keeping ancient secrets and the possible annihilation of Earth! That’s a lot to shoulder. The story follows Claire, a college student with a part-time job as a delivery driver, who falls in love with Michael, a down-and-out insurance adjuster. She belongs to a society called The Stronghold, which is centuries-old. The secret society believes that Michael may be an amnesiac immortal elder god, whose eventual awakening could spark a universal Armageddon. Claire, struggling with her strict faith, reveals herself to Michael and the results may potentially destroy, not only her society, but the world as well. Ultimately, if their love is to be born, the Earth must die. So, sounds like they have an extremely important decision to make!

“What makes Stephen King‘s work scary isn’t the big, bad monster, as much as how effectively he contrasts it with the reality of everyday life. The most-frightening parts of The War of the Worlds radio broadcast or the original Night of the Living Dead film, are hearing and seeing the mundane media reports struggling to grasp the bizarre events,” said Hester. “To maintain that contrast, I sort of have to keep a bright line in my mind between the down-to-Earth details of falling in love and the vast cosmic cataclysm yawning underneath everyone’s feet. If a reader can feel the authenticity of the relationship, they’ll feel like they have a stake in its success or failure in the face of these otherworldly forces.”

- Advertisement -

Look for Stronghold #1 to land on shelves on Feb. 20, 2019. In the meantime, click HERE for an exclusive look at Cover A and Cover B for the first issue, via Previews World, and HERE for the original report, including a sneak peek at some interior pages, by The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the story.

What do you think, is true love more valuable than the fate of the planet? Are you excited to get your hands on this book? Let us know in the comments section below.

Michael is a New England native and fluent in Italian. He graduated with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism (RTVF) from Auburn University. He is a BIG fan of the Boston sports scene, X-Men and X-Force. He loves his black lab (named Yaz), pop culture, science, space and gaming. He's also a crossfitter, paddleboarder and marathoner.